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Hi Bold Bakers!
It isn’t Christmas without homemade brandy butter! In Ireland, you can’t have mince pies or Christmas pudding without a healthy dollop of Traditional Irish Brandy Butter — and I hope it will become a holiday staple in your home too!
It’s made of just three ingredients (one being brandy, of course), and while it is a simple side, it really adds so much to a great dessert.
Use it as you would a side of whipped cream. It is the perfect light addition to a decadent dessert! (And the extra hit of booze doesn’t hurt either!)
What is Brandy Butter?
Brandy butter is a traditional side to holiday desserts like Christmas pudding and mince pies, and can be bought from the store in Europe or homemade!
It is usually sold cold with hotter desserts and serves as an alternative to cream, custard, or ice cream.
It is made of only three ingredients: butter, powdered sugar, and brandy, and its texture feels like whipped butter.
What You Need To Make Brandy Butter
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Mixing bowl
- Electric hand whisk (optional)
How To Make Brandy Butter
With just a few ingredients and limited equipment, you can whip up this topping in no time! Here’s how you make it (and don’t forget to get the full recipe with measurements, on the page down below):
- Beat the butter in a large baking bowl with an electric hand whisk until it is light and creamy.
- Add in the sugar and beat again until it’s incorporated.
- Add in the brandy to taste and stir. If you add too much brandy, or if the mixture curdles, add more powdered sugar until the mixture binds back together.
Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips For Making Brandy Butter
- I love to use salted butter. It gives it a lot of extra flavor!
- You’ll want to be sure that your butter has been out at room temperature for a few hours, so it is soft and perfect for whipping.
- No electric mixer? No worries! You can whip this recipe up easily by hand!
- You can make this weeks in advance, so you have it ready to go in the fridge for Christmas.
How Do I Store Brandy Butter?
Making this sweet topping in advance for the holidays and parties is a fantastic idea because it keeps so well in the fridge! You can cover and store it in the refrigerator for up to 8 weeks.
Make More Holiday Recipes!
- Simplified Mincemeat Christmas Pudding
- Aunty Rosaleen’s Irish Christmas Cake
- How to Make Traditional Mincemeat
And don’t forget to buy my Bigger Bolder Baking Cookbook!
Full (and printable) recipe below!
Try These Recipes!
Old Fashioned Brandy Butter Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 stick (4oz/115g) butter softened
- 2 cups (8oz/225g) powdered sugar sifted
- 4-5 tablespoons brandy
Instructions
- Place the butter in a large baking bowl. Beat with an electric hand whisk until light and creamy.
- Add the sugar and beat again until it's all incorporated.
- Add the brandy to taste and stir well. If you add too much brandy. (If the mixture curdles. If it does, add more powdered sugar until the mixture binds back together).
- Spoon the butter into a serving dish or jar, cover, and store in the fridge for up to 8 weeks. Serve with my mince pies.
What kind off brandy?
We don’t use alcohol. Could you make this with an extract for flavor instead? If so, any idea what that measurement would be? That many tbsp of vanilla or almond would be over powering, I would think. Thank you!
I make it with a smoky, peaty whisky 😋
I’m going to also try this with cognac.
What kinda Brandy? Brandy comes in so many different kinds. Which one do you like? Also on stand mixer would you use paddle attachment or whisk attachment!
This question is for brandy butter
Not quite sure what is Irish about this recipe. Brandy butter as well as mince pies and Christmas pudding are all British?!?